The present invention relates to a slicing apparatus for dividing a molded article, obtained by stacking and compressing sheet-like materials, to a given thickness, and more particularly, to a slicing apparatus and a dividing knife adapted for the manufacture of tobacco materials.
Reaped leaf tobacco is separated into laminae and stems after it is classified according to breeds, grades, etc. Laminae of the same breed and grade are stacked in layers as they are stored in a container, such as a corrugated cardboard box, barrel, etc., and these stacked laminae are compressed in the container to form a compression-molded article. Thereafter, the compression-molded article in the container is preserved or matured for a given period.
When the maturation is completed, the compression-molded article of laminae is taken out from the container onto a lifter, and is horizontally divided into slice pieces with a given thickness. This slicing of the compression-molded article is carried out to obtain an aggregation of slice pieces in accordance with given blending ratios between slice pieces obtained from various compression-molded articles. Since the individual slice pieces are small, moreover, the compressed laminae in each slice piece can be easily untied, so that subsequent moisture conditioning and scenting processes for the laminae can be carried out satisfactorily.
For example, a slicing apparatus disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-38140 is used to slice the aforesaid compression-molded articles of laminae. This known slicing apparatus is provided with a dividing knife, and this dividing knife can reciprocate within a horizontal plane, and has a chevron-shaped edge that projects toward the compression-molded article. When the dividing knife moves toward the compression-molded article, the dividing knife cuts into the compression-molded article with the top portion of its chevron-shaped edge forward, thereby horizontally slicing the compression-molded article.
As the aforesaid dividing knife cuts into the compression-molded article, the chevron-shaped dividing knife advances in the compression-molded article with the central portion of its edge ahead of the opposite ends. During the slicing operation, therefore, the dividing knife subjects the compression-molded article to a force directed from the inside toward the outer periphery of the compression-molded article. This force causes the outer periphery of the compression-molded article to chip. Accordingly, slice pieces cannot be satisfactorily cutout of the compression-molded article, and it is hard to stabilize the size of the slice pieces.
If cleavage in the compression-molded article occurs in front of the edge of the dividing knife during the slicing operation, moreover, this cleavage makes it impossible to cut out slice pieces with a uniform thickness throughout the area. More specifically, in connection with this, the compression-molded-article in the container, which is subjected to the compression, has its central portion recessed, and the compression-molded article is held upside down as it is taken out of the container. Thus, the compression-molded article on the lift is upwardly convex. If cleavage in this compression-molded article occurs in front of the edge of the dividing knife, that portion of the article above the cleavage lifts as the dividing knife cuts in. As a result, the dividing knife inevitably slices the compression-molded article at a portion under a target slice surface.
Furthermore, the generally known slicing apparatus described above is suited for the small-lot production of cigarettes or filter cigarettes, and is not for large-lot production.
The object of the present invention is to provide a slicing apparatus and a dividing knife thereof, suited for large-lot production and capable of steadily cutting out slice pieces with a uniform thickness throughout the area from a compression-molded article of sheet materials without causing the outer periphery thereof to chip.
The above object is achieved by a slicing apparatus and a dividing knife according to the present invention. The slicing apparatus is provided with a lifter for receiving a compression-molded article of sheet-like materials, and the lifter raises and lowers the received compression-molded article. The slicing apparatus is further provided with a dividing knife for dividing the compression-molded article on the lifter into pieces with a given thickness and discharge means for discharging the pieces from the surface of the dividing knife to a position beside the dividing knife, and the dividing knife includes an effective cutting edge region recessed with respect to the compression-molded article.
When the dividing knife is moved from its pause position toward the compression-molded article, according to the slicing apparatus described above, the dividing knife cuts into the compression-molded article, whereby a piece of the compression-molded article is formed on the dividing knife. The pieces is discharged from the surface of the dividing knife to the position beside the dividing knife. Thereafter, the dividing knife returns to the pause position, so that the division of the compression-molded article can be repeated after the lifter is further raised for a predetermined distance. Thus, the division of the compression-molded article can be carried out speedily.
The piece discharged from the surface of the dividing knife is fed onto a stack pallet. On this stack pallet, the pieces of various breeds and grades are stacked in layers to form a stack corresponding to a specific brand.
In cutting the compression-molded article, the dividing knife holds the compression-molded article from both sides as it cuts into the compression-molded article, so that the outer periphery of the compression-molded article cannot be broken.
If the upper surface of the compression-molded article is pressed by means of upper presser means when the compression-molded article is cut, cleavage in the compression-molded article can be prevented, and the width of each piece obtained by cutting can be made uniform throughout the area.
If the side face of the compression-molded article is pressed by means of side stopper means when the compression-molded article is cut, there is no possibility of the compression-molded article moving on the lifter as the dividing knife cuts into the compression-molded article.
The effective cutting edge region of the dividing knife may be formed having the shape of a V, W, spread U, or circular arc. With any of these shapes, the effective cutting edge region of the dividing knife can hold the compression-molded article from both sides as it cuts into the compression-molded article.